High Schoolers Develop Complex Machines for Simple Tasks

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High Schoolers Develop Complex Machines for Simple Tasks Some students at NTC's Alternative High School are happy to say, "My work here is done." Reporter: Jonalee Merkel Email Address: jmerkel@wsaw.com High Schoolers Develop Complex Machines for Simple Tasks

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Some students at NTC's Alternative High School are happy to say, "My work here is done."

They've spent the last six weeks of science class making their own Rube Goldberg machines.

This year the students' challenges were to make machines that either crushed a 12-oz. soda can and deposited it in a recycle bin, or that squeezed toothpaste out of a tube onto a toothbrush - all in as many steps as possible.

"It was really slow," says 16-year-old Krista Kratwell. "We did what we could, but then we tried with the can and we had to sit and think a couple of days. And then we started this and this took us 15 days roughly."

Through the science class project students learned how things move, including stored energy, friction and speed.